Piercing valve



Aug. 21, 1956 J. w. MC-DONALD PIERCING VALVE Original Filed Feb. 24 1949 EEEEEH w 9 a Q n JWLDIcflorzaZd INVENTOR ATTORNEYS U it sm aefi kQfifie Reissued Aug. 21, 1956 PIERCING VALVE John W. McDonald, Grampian; Pa;

Original No. 2,608,989, dated September 2, 1952, start No. 78,167, February 24, 1949'. Application for reissue August 24', 1954, Serial No; 451,995

M a tter enclosed in heavy Brackets [1 appears the original patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to valve construction, and more particularly, has reference to a piercing valve.

By way of background, it may benoted that many conditions can exist under which it isdesired to tap into line and provide a valve at the location at which the line is tapped. It often happens that the tapping-and valve mounting operation has the disadvantage under normal practice of causing loss of fluid contained in the line. The operation may have the added disadvantages of requiring an excessive amount of time and effort, increasing the possibilities of leaks, etc.

For example, in the art of refrigerator repair, the repairman often is required to work upon a hermetically sealed refrigerator unit having no valves for servicing other units. Heretofore, this has required cutting of the tubing and installation of a valve, which in turn-requires the making of flared connections, loss ofsvital time, increases the possibility of leaks, causes loss of all refrigerant, and in addition may cause air and moisture to enter thesystem.

Tothis end, I have provided a piercingvalve arrangement which is designed to make it possible for the average refrigerator repair man to check and service any hermetically sealed unit at less cost, and with-the expenditure of less time, the valve being particularly designed, in fact, to permit the service than to perform many servicing tasks which heretofore have been incapable of ready achievement;

Another important object is to provide a piercing valve which-can'be used in other fields of work, such as the tapping of air, gas, and other fluid lines.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of constructionand combinations of parts, hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit-of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawings, 7 v I v Figure 1' is a longitudinal section through a piercing valve constructed in accordance with the invention asit appears when mounted upon a portion of tubing prior to'piercing of the tubing by the valve.

Figure 2 is' a transverse section through the medial portion of the valve, showing the tubing pierced thereby.

Figure 3' is a transverse section taken substantially on line3-3 of Figure l.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a saddle 5 is in the present instance of generally elongated conformation and is curved transversely conformably to the external curvature oftubing A to be tapped. 7

On the inner surface'of the saddle 5 adjacent the opposite longitudinal edges thereof, are formed the elongated parallel solder grooves 6 the ends of which are bridged by the transverse grooves 7. At one endof eachgroove6avent 8 is' provided eiitendin'g fromsaid g'ibdvete theouter surface of the saddle'5.

2. Integral with th saddle 5' and extending up'wafdty from the middle portion thereof is the valve be having the axial threaded bore 10, said bore 10 opening atth'e' er end of the body into an enlargedreces'sf 1 1. closing said recess is'the fibre disc 12, that can be fitted into anfenlargedportion 13 of the recess; The fibre disc 12 is flush with the interior surface of the saddle At the" upper iid of the body 9, the threaded bore 10 a e-its into'a packing re'cess l4. v

Thread'ab1e in the bore 10 isthe elongated iercing shaft 15 having at its upper end the apertured cross member 16 receiving the cross pin 17 for the purpose of rotatii'rgi th'e shaft 15. p

At its lower. end, the shaft 1 5" is threaded for engageme'nt' in the" threaded bore" 10, as at 18, and formedlin the inner end face of the piercing shaft 15 is the socket 19 receiving the needle 20 extending" into there ce's'sf 11 and normally'l terrnii' ating short of the fibre disc 12 as particularly" shown in Figure 1. Needle 20; is" preferscur'ed'in the socket 19" by silver solderingor the 11 e. I

\V For the purpose of preventing leaks through the bore 1'01 pi e' the packin Zill'iati is disposed in the pack;-

f4, saidjpackin'g being's'ecured in place by the "g retainer 22; over which is fitted the packing nut ea'dable on the externally threaded upper end 24 df'the od -,9. V y

. Formed integrally with the body 9' in an angular boss the axial bore 26 which at its inner eiigl is ill: communication with the recess l l afnd Whi'chjzitjits outer end ope'ri s' at" the outer end, of the boss. The outer e'rid' of the Borg 2 6 canbe enlarged and threaded as at to rec a threaded adapter or regulating'jet' 28 havin'guie reduced bore 29: g H

Sfai d'oiit'e'r' end of the'boss' 25 is externally threaded as at 3010 refccivetlie sealing cap31. v,

Iii use, andassuming that tubing A comprising apertion of a hermetically sealed, refrigerating unit, is tobe tap a for servicing" operations; said tubing A first is cleaned andtintie'd. Then a suitable flux isiapplidito the tlnl'ictl S urfaEi Of Said tubing" A. It Willibei ne stoodith a't theinner 0r pipe engaging surface of thesa'ddle 5 will previously have been tinned. I

.The saddle'S'is then applied to'the tubing A, and saddle" and tubing are heated with a torch or iron until the; solder 3'2 fluxes. If necessary to add more solder, this c'an'be added to the joint through'the ventsS'. A

When the saddle hasbeen properly secured to the tubing 13, the' sealing cap 31 is removed Ass'uniingf tliat a' refrigerator unit is being serviced, the charging'liiie orother line to be connected in communicatingrel'ationwith thetubing A is coupled to the boss 25, with the regulating jet 28"being used or not used, depending'upon the particular conditions or operation. I v V Thepiercing shaft 15 isjthen rotated, so'that the'pier'cmg needle Zilis moved downwardly to the position illustrated in Figure 2, in which position it" has pierced the tubing A. I r g ,7

As a result, the needle 20 forms a seat 3,3fojr itself inthe tubing A. Retrogr'ade'threading of theshaft' lS, accordingly, opens the'valve, for theservicing"operations. After the operations have been performed, the 'valv again: moved into'its seat, so as to close the aperture, effectively sealing the l aperture until such time as further servicing operations may be required.

now may be removed,

' dering; the-gamma 'thetubing', any ordinary cla rn ps; such wire clai'nps or" similar devices, aie' used to hold the Sandiein rbper'posnion:

Important characteristics of the construction reside in its simplicity, ease of operation, and the characteristic possessed whereby it prevents loss of refrigerant or other fluid, reduces the chances of leaks caused by vibration, and eliminates the cutting of the tubing resulting in loss of said fluid.

In the preceding paragraphs there has been described a piercing valve that has been illustrated in conjunction with the tapping of a fluid containing conduit. It is equally manifest that the principles and features above described could be easily modified without the exercise of invention in conjunction with the tapping of other fluid containers. The above embodiment of the invention is accordingly illustrated as a preferred form only, and it is apparent that similar modifications employing the prineiple of sealed tapping of other fluid containers could be provided with equal utility. Accordingly, modifications of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:-

l. A conduit tapping valve adapted fior mounting on an elongated length of tubular conduit, said valve comprising an elongated transversely concavo-convex saddle memlber adapted to receive a tubular conduit in the concave side thereof, a valve body carried by the saddle member and projecting perpendicularly from the convex side thereof, said valve body having a relatively large axial recess therein opening through the end thereof adjacent the saddle member, said saddle member having a bore opening through the concave side thereof and communieating with the recess, the bore being of greater diameter than the recess to form a shoulder at the junction of the bore and the recess, a sealing disc of fibrous material in the bore and seated against the shoulder, a valve stem threaded axially through the valve body and entering the recess, and having an axial socket at one end thereof, a piercing needle received in said socket of said valve stem and projecting into said [the recess, a piercing needle carried by the valve stem within the] recess, and said valve body having a laterally extending bore extending therethrough and communicating with the recess.

2. A conduit tapping valve adapted for mounting on an elongated length of tubular conduit, said valve comprising an elongated transversely concavo-convex saddle member adapted to receive a tubular conduit in the concave side thereof, a valve body carried by the saddle member and projecting perpendicularly from the convex side thereof, said valve body having a relatively large axial recess therein opening through the end thereof adjacent the saddle member, said saddle member having a bore opening through the concave side thereof and communieating with the recess, the there being of greater diameter than the recess to form a shoulder at the junction of the bore and the recess, a sealing disc of fibrousmaterial in the bore and seated against the shoulder, a valve stem threaded axially through the valve body and entering the recess, and having an axial socket at one end thereof, a piercing needle received in said socket of said valve stem and projecting into said [the recess, a piercing needle carried by the valve stem within the] recess, a stem carried by the valve body and projecting outwardly therefrom,

said stem having an axial bore extending therethnou-gh and communicating with the recess, a regulating jet threadedly engaging the wall of the bore in the stem adjacent the end thereof rem-ote from the recess, and a cap threadedly engaging the stem adjacent the end thereof adjacent the regulating jet for closing the bore in the stem.

3. A conduit tapping valve adapted for mounting on an elongated length of tubular conduit, said valve comprising an elongated transversely concavo-convex saddle member adapted to receive a tubular conduit in the con cave side thereof, a valve body carried by the saddle member and projecting perpendicularly from the convex side thereof, said valve body having a relatively large axial the saddle member, said saddle member having a bore opening through the concave side thereof and communieating with the recess, the bore being of greater diameter than the recess to form a shoulder at the junction of the bore and the recess, a sealing disc of fibrous material in the bore and seated against the shoulder, a valve stem threaded axially through the valve body and entering the recess, and having an axial socket at one end thereof, a piercing needle received in said socket of said valve stem and projecting into said [the recess, a piercing needle carried by the valve stem within the] recess, said valve body having a laterally extending bore extending theret-hrough and communicating with the recess, the saddle member having an endless groove in its concave side, and said groove encircling the bore in the saddle member in spaced relation thereto.

4. A piercing valve adapted to be selectively mounted on a fluid container to control the ingress and egress of fluid with respect to said container, comprising; a valve body having an axial passage therethrough; an angularly disposed boss having an axial bore therethrough that communicates with said axial passage through said valve body; a valve stem axially shiftable with respect to said passage and having an axial socket at one end thereof; a piercing needle received in said socket of said valve stem; a packing recess communicating said passage with the exterior of said valve body and having the seat area thereof defined by said passage, whereby said seat is spaced with respect to one surface of said container; a resilient packing receivable against said packing seat; and means for securing said piercing valve with respect to said container.

5. A piercing valve adapted to be mounted on a fluid container to control the ingress and egress of fluid with respect to said container, comprising; a valve body having an axially extending recess on one surface thereof defining a packing seat that is spaced with respect to a surface of said container; a threaded bore extending axially of said body and having one end thereof communicating with said recess; a fluid conduit communicating with the passage defined by said threaded bore; a valve stem axially shiftable with respect to said threaded bore and having an axial socket at one end thereof; a piercing needle received in said socket of said valve stem; a resilient packing receivable against said packing seat; and means for securing said valve body to said container, said bore and said recess having a common axis; the plane of said packing seat being disposed at substantially right angles to the common axis of said bore and said recess.

6. A tapping valve adapted for mounting on a fluid container, said valve comprising an attaching member adapted to engage said fluid container; a valve body integral with said attaching member and projecting angularly from one side thereof, said valve body having a relatively large axial recess therein opening through the end thereof adjacent the attaching member, said attaching member defining an axially extending bore opening through one surface thereof and communicating, at the other spaced axial end thereof with the recess, the bore of said attaching member being of greater diameter than the recess to form a shoulder at the junction of the bore and the recess, a sealing disc of fibrous material in the bore and seated against the shoulder, a valve stem threaded axially through the valve body and entering the recess, a piercing needle carried by the valve stem within the recess, said valve body having a laterally extending bore extending therethrough and communicating with the recess; said sealing disc being originally imperforate, whereby the same serves as a valve seat for said piercing needle.

7. A piercing valve adapted to be selectively mounted on a fluid container to control the entrance and discharge of fluid with respect to said container, comprising; a valve body having an axial recess therethrough defined, at one axial end by an enlarged axial bore that defines, with said bore, a packing seat that is disposed in substantially perpendicular relationship to the common axis of said bore and said recess; an angularly disposed boss member having an axial bore therethrough, one end of which communicates with said axial recess of said valve body; a valve stem threaded axially through said valve body and entering the end of said recess opposite said enlarged axial bore; a piercing needle carried by said valve stem and being capable of axial movement into and out of said bore; and resilient packing means receivable in said enlarged bore whereby leakage between said valve body and said container is obviated said bore and said recess having a common axis; the plane of said packing seat being disposed at substantially right angles to the common axis of said bore and said recess said packing means being originally imperforate, whereby the same serves as a valve seat for said piercing needle.

8. The device of claim 1 further characterized by the fact that said sealing disc is originally imperforate, whereby the same serves as a valve seat for said piercing needle.

9. The device of claim 4 further characterized by the fact that said resilient packing is originally imperforate, whereby the same serves as a valve seat for said piercing needle.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

